Hey bookworms! I’m so excited to take part in the blog tour of The Family Lie by Jake, which is hosted by the lovely folks over at @Bookouture. Be sure to check out the other amazing bloggers that are a part of this tour!

The Family Lie

Author: Jake Cross

Publication Date: 23 April 2019

Genre: Adult Fiction – Crime Thriller

Pages: 305

Publisher: Bookouture

You whispered goodnight to your daughter. You didn’t know that would be your last goodbye.

You wake up in the middle of the night.

Your five-year-old daughter is gone.

Your husband is nowhere to be seen.

Your family think he took her.

The police believe he’s guilty.

But he wouldn’t do that, would he?

He’s a loving father. A loving husband. Isn’t he?

An addictive and completely gripping psychological thriller with a twist that will blow you away. Fans of The Girl on the Train,K.L. Slater and Shalini Boland won’t be able to put down this jaw-dropping novel.

Anna jolts awake in the middle of the night to discover that both her five-year-old daughter (Josie) and husband (Nick) are missing. The back patio door has been left unlatched, and the pouring rain is washing away the smear of blood that was left on the concrete steps. Anna frantically searches the house, but her loved ones are gone. When the police finally show up to her home, she realizes that they assume that her husband has abducted their daughter.

The police manage to locate a dazed and confused Nick, who was given an overdose of ketamine. While Nick is recovering in the hospital, Anna receives a ransom call on Josie’s behalf. This only further cements the police’s beliefs of Nick’s involvement since Anna and Nick and struggling financially ever since she was caught off from her wealthy family for marrying Nick in the first place. However, the abductors allude to the fact that money may not be their sole motivation.

Without giving away any of the juicy details, the action in this story is continuous throughout making it a gripping thriller from start to finish. As we learn more about Anna’s and Nick’s pasts and get closer to unfolding the truth behind Josie’s disappearance, we are met with twists and turns at every corner. The story doesn’t let up until the very end, which I loved.

One aspect of the story that I did not much care for was the way in which DS Miller spoke. Whenever DS Miller interacts with Anna during the investigation, she constantly is saying ‘dear’ or ‘sweetie’, and it is to the point where it felt incredibly condescending. I’m not sure if this was meant to be some sort of tick that she has, but it definitely got under my skin.

Overall, this fast-paced, psychological thriller will have you guessing up until the very end.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for an eARC of this book. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Jake has been making stuff up from a real early age. His parents never believed his silly lies when he was young, so he still has no idea why he thought he could invent a decent story as an adult. But he kept trying, and here we are. THE CHOICE is his first novel, the first of three thrillers to be published by Bookouture, and he hopes you like it. If you don’t, he at least hopes you don’t ask for a refund.

out of curiosity (I didn’t see it in the bio), where is the author from…. I’m wondering if that has anything to do with the dialogue you mentioned? Or maybe the character is supposed to be a condescending pr** ?

[…] The Family Lie by Jake Cross – 4 stars. A roller coaster ride of a thriller where Anna’s husband and daughter disappear in the middle of the night, but the police assume it’s all the husband’s doing. Here’s my review. […]

Hmm, the story-line sounds VERY similar to another book I’ve read, The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena. But I might try it! I didn’t really like TCND but hopefully this will have a better take on the story idea! Great review ❤